The current extremely successful campaign of aggression by Russia’s dictator-candidate Vladimir Putin illustrates two of the fundamentals of geopolitical history: * A demagogue’s capability of achieving remarkable results through bluff. * How … [Read more...] about Putin, Bluffer-in-Chief
Contributor: Sol W. Sanders
Why “Benghazi”?*
Washington is notoriously a one-crisis town. And it may well be that the growing concern over Russian aggression in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s threats to other former Soviet-occupied areas in Central and Eastern Europe will soak up all the … [Read more...] about Why “Benghazi”?*
American LNG to the Rescue! Not Exactly.*
When Secretary of State John Kerry tried to lead an LNG posse to rescue the Europeans, blackmailed in the Ukraine affair by their heavy dependence on Russian natural gas, his bluff was soon called. True, the U.S. has a growing natural gas surplus. … [Read more...] about American LNG to the Rescue! Not Exactly.*
“Czechoslovakia” or “Finland”
All historical analogies are odious, some dead white man – probably a Frenchman – has said. Obviously, he meant that times change, the cast changes, the nuances change, the world moves on, and no geopolitical situation really replicates an earlier … [Read more...] about “Czechoslovakia” or “Finland”
Ideology/Incompetence?*
Belatedly in this instance, in our search to solve the mystery of the Obama Administration’s policy formulation process, the highly touted The New Yorker extended interviews by David Remnick are found wanting. A little more Obama, a little less … [Read more...] about Ideology/Incompetence?*
Ideology, Technology, and—Coming Up a Poor Third—Common Sense*
Nowhere is the struggle fiercer between half-aspiring ideology and good old common sense than in the Obama Administration’s energy strategy — or lack thereof. Having been ambushed by intrepid technology in the exploitation of natural gas — “the … [Read more...] about Ideology, Technology, and—Coming Up a Poor Third—Common Sense*
Israel-Palestine — Enough Already!*
It must have been a shock to its “right-nick” listeners. But even government-subsidized National Public Radio (NPR) had a commentator last week declaring that the so-called Israel-Palestine “Peace Process” isn’t going anywhere. And, more importantly, … [Read more...] about Israel-Palestine — Enough Already!*
The Cool War Cometh II
There is presently about as much confusion as when the U.S. entered The Cold War against the Soviet Union in the late 1940s. But there are fundamental defining differences to what is likely to be an equally long and complex new struggle between the … [Read more...] about The Cool War Cometh II
The [Chinese] emperor has no clothes
The shudder that relatively minor bad news from China sent through world markets last week was a warning that the halcyon days of Beijing’s economy are over. Indeed, reluctantly because of self-interest and wishful thinking, a universal consensus … [Read more...] about The [Chinese] emperor has no clothes
The Real “Red Line”*
Recorded history is generally a straight-line narrative, often written with prejudice, and as the cliché has it, by the victors. Only those involved in writing it, or more importantly, living through it, know the many cross-currents that, because … [Read more...] about The Real “Red Line”*